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​The origin of Owatonna synth-pop artist Owl City's cute-on-the-surface moniker turns out to have some dead-serious literary implications. In a blog posting titled "Why I Call Myself Owl City," the reclusive Adam Young describes what is "not the kind of answer I can explain in thirty seconds during a loud meet-and-greet while the opener is soundchecking in the same room two people are trying to converse in." He goes on to say that even half an hour in a quiet coffee shop might not be enough to fully explain it. Whether or not this is true, we can bet that Ambrose Bierce is gonna get a lot of Kindle downloads this week.
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​All bets were on Adele heading into last night's Grammy nomination ceremony (now a nationally televised event tailored to milk the big reveal for every last commercial penny), and she certainly held her own, receiving a total of six nominations from the Recording Academy. Kanye West, too, scored big overall, leading the pack with seven separate nominations.More >>

​The celebrity blogs are hopping this morning with photos of stars in their Halloween costumes (Heidi Klum is by far the scariest and most stunning), but there was one that caught our eye: Last night, Kanye West showed his love for the King of Pop by dressing as Michael Jackson.More >>

Photo by Erik Hess

​Local indie superhero Mark Mallman tweeted on Monday that his song "Light the Dynamite and Run" (from 2009's Invincible Criminal) would be featured on Thursday night's season finale of Jersey Shore. The song's ultra-intense title (perfect for a patented Jersey Shore slow-motion drama staredown) and anthemic chorus made sense for a season finale that was likely to be filled with meatball cookas, unprotected drunken sex, fighting and... fighting. More >>

​He's helped popularize plodding, misogynistic rap-rock and backwards red baseball caps. He's incited the shiftless youth in a Woodstock audience to riot. He's been an unashamedly creepy stalker of young, blond Hollywood pop starlets. He's been involved in film projects involving skateboarding culture. Now, Limp Bizkit lightning rod Fred Durst would like to monopolize an adjusted-for-commercial, half-hour-interruption of your precious viewing time with a CBS sitcom about, well, Fred Durst, possibly staring a guy looks suspiciously like Fred Durst. More >>

​It says something about the age we're living in that you don't even need a television to stay caught up with MTV these days, so following along with this year's VMA's required little more than a Twitter account, a couple searches on YouTube, and an unrelenting desire to watch a bunch of pop stars congratulate themselves. Voila! Here's last night's show, distilled down into the five notable moments everyone's talkin' about today.More >>

​When Kurt Cobain took his own life in 1994, after the initial shock and sorrow faded away, what I was left with was a deep concern and sympathy for his baby daughter, Frances Bean, who was only a year old at the time. Not only would she grow up without a father in her life (and constantly be under the gloomy shadow that Cobain still casts over the music world at large), but she would be under the care of Courtney Love, who herself has proven to be rather unstable and erratic in her lifestyle and parenting choices (and having Michael Stipe and Drew Barrymore as godparents has to be quite a trip as well). Despite all of that, Frances is, incredibly, turning 19 years old today.More >>

​Today is Madonna Ciccone's 53rd birthday. And while the eternal Material Girl has wisely ceded the pop spotlight of today to the younger generation of starlets, her influence is still felt in the way modern female musicians are viewed, regarded and accepted. In the early '80s, Madonna broke down a lot of the industry doors that young entertainers stride through so brashly and confidently these days, while also giving music fans a reason to dance and think at the same time.

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​Know what'd be really convenient? Like really, really convenient? If everything in our lives was completely automated and available from one giant place. Need your oil changed? Walmart! Need Fig Newtons? Walmart! Need Lady Gaga tickets? Walma-- wait, what?More >>

​Tim Pawlenty took a break from campaigning for his GOP presidential candidacy in Ames, Iowa, yesterday to answer some "fun" questions from pop culture-heavy political site Gliterazzi. After answering a question about his favorite music artist of all time (Bruce Springsteen) and his nickname T-Paw, Pawlenty took over the interview to get the young bloggers riffing on Lady Gaga.

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